Worcestershire sauce dishes with it. Worcestershire (or Worcestershire) sauce: composition and recipe

Worcestershire sauce is a fermented brown liquid that has a sweet and sour taste and rich composition. This is one of the most famous and popular representatives of this group of seasonings in the world, which has a rich composition. It is added to various dishes and used in many countries... Want to know more about Worcestershire sauce? Read our review!

History of creation

You have already learned what Worcestershire sauce looks like - you can find small bottles on the shelves of large stores, it is sold freely. You can see what they look like in the photo. It's time to say a few words about how this product came to be.

A common half-legend - half-truth says:

  • One day, Lord Marques Sandys returned from a trip to India - he liked the spice-rich cuisine so much that his native British cuisine seemed bland and uninteresting;
  • The Lord gave one of the brought recipes to pharmacists Lee and Perrins, who created a liquid that met all the rules;
  • Sandys did not like the result obtained - the jars with the finished liquid remained standing in the basement of the pharmacy unclaimed;
  • A few years later, pharmaceutical chemists remembered the jars and opened them. The taste of the contents has changed dramatically over the years of infusion, a pleasant tart aroma has appeared;
  • Lee and Perrins set up large-scale production and opened a plant, as the resulting product quickly gained unprecedented popularity;
  • The plant still operates to this day - but is now owned by the Heinz company.

Later we will definitely provide a recipe for Worcestershire sauce at home. In the meantime, let's talk about what Worcestershire sauce, which is produced on an industrial scale, consists of.

Worcestershire sauce ingredients

Let us immediately note that the composition of Worcestershire sauce is kept secret - it is known only at a single factory. By the way, only Lea Perrins Worcestershire sauce is original. There are several worthy manufacturers, but they all copy the original source, adding their own components.

The composition and recipe for English Worcestershire sauce are kept secret - but some information can still be obtained. Liquid seasoning consists of:


Even though the composition of Worcestershire sauce is known almost completely, it cannot be repeated for many years.

A little interesting fact: before bottling, the seasoning is aged for about 4 years in a dark room in oak barrels. The concentrated composition allows you to reduce the consumption of seasoning - and therefore makes the product economical to use.

You have learned what liquid seasoning is made from - which means you understand how Worcestershire sauce can be replaced in theory. But more on that later. In the meantime, let's discuss where to add and what to use this delicious fermented liquid with.

What do you eat Worcestershire with?

Are you already interested in the question of what Worcestershire sauce is used for? It's time to find out which dish options will benefit from adding a few drops of the product:


Now you know what Worcestershire sauce is eaten with - as you can see, the scope of application is quite wide. Experiment, add the product to the most unexpected dishes - most likely, the result will pleasantly surprise you.

Finally, let's briefly note how to use Worcestershire sauce - 2-3 drops per dish during cooking is enough, since its consistency is very thick and concentrated. You are guaranteed to enjoy a rich taste and aroma even with a small amount of liquid.

Let's move on to what you've been waiting for? Here is a recipe for homemade Worcestershire sauce!

How to make your own Worcestershire sauce?

Many people are interested in how to make Worcestershire sauce at home - especially if you are a fan of culinary experiments. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to achieve the original taste on your own - the exact recipe is known only to manufacturing companies. In addition, you won’t be able to achieve the original fermentation process on your own.

However, you can create your own variation and use an approximate method of cooking at home. It is quite simple and accessible to almost everyone, and tastes very much like the original version.

So, let's start cooking:


That's all! Store in the refrigerator. Have you studied the recipe but want to understand what Worcestershire sauce tastes like? Read on, we have prepared a lot of alternative options - you will finally find out how to replace Worcestershire sauce at home.

And also watch the video recipe:

How to replace Worcestershire product?

We've already talked about how to make Worcestershire sauce at home - if you couldn't cope with this culinary Olympus, then it's time to talk about substitutes.

The analogue will help you forget about cooking yourself and long searches in stores. Here are some useful tips - some of them will definitely come in handy when looking for an answer to the question of what to replace Worcestershire sauce with.

  • Mix one teaspoon each of tamarind paste, soy sauce and white vinegar;
  • Add 1/8 tsp. ground cloves and hot pepper;
  • Stir.

And here is the second recipe:

  • Take two tablespoons of red wine vinegar and two tablespoons of fish product;
  • Stir in 1/8 tsp. salt.

And one more option:

  • Take one tbsp. lemon juice and garlic powder;
  • Add the same amount of molasses, vinegar and soy product;
  • Combine with a similar amount of vinegar;
  • Add ¾ tbsp. hot seasoning and 0.5 tablespoon of granulated sugar, mix all ingredients.

You can also use the following sauces in their pure form:

  • Soy;
  • Fish;
  • Or red wine.

How to buy a quality product

Finally, let’s note how to choose and buy a quality product.

  • The only original product is produced by the Lea & Perrins brand. How much does a bottle cost? About 350 rubles;

  • You can also choose good quality analogues from Heinz, French's and Cajun Power.

Worcestershire sauce is perhaps one of the most famous in the world; it came to us from Great Britain. Thick and rich, it has gained millions of fans around the world and found its place in the cuisines of different nations. It is added to salads, soups, meat dishes and even drinks. His recipe remains a closely guarded secret to this day.

A little history

As is the case with many other dishes, the appearance of Worcestershire sauce is surrounded by certain legends. Today there are at least two theories of its invention.

The most common version says: India should be thanked for the recipe for Worcester sauce. It was from this country that Lord Marques Sandys once returned. After the spice-rich Indian cuisine, the food of his native Britain seemed incredibly bland to him. Fortunately, the lord brought with him a recipe for one of the many Indian sauces. With this recipe, he turned to the British pharmacists Lee and Perrins. The pharmacists did not refuse the lord, and created a sauce for him, strictly following all the prescriptions. Alas, Sandys was not at all pleased with the result - the sauce prepared by the pharmacists turned out to be completely inedible. The lord did not even bother to take the prepared liquid for himself - the containers with the failed Indian dressing remained in the basement of the pharmacy.

And so Worcestershire sauce would have sunk into oblivion if, by a lucky chance, a few years later, pharmacists had not discovered the ill-fated jars and risked trying their contents again. Imagine their surprise when it turned out that over the years of infusion it acquired an absolutely amazing taste and a tart but pleasant aroma.

Lee and Perrins turned out to be enterprising guys and very quickly launched a mass production of the sauce under their personal brand. The inhabitants of Foggy Albion liked it and the scale of production began to grow rapidly.

World Favorite

Dishes with Worcestershire sauce are found in the diet of many countries. Many salads in Greece include it in their dressing. In China today, marinade using Worcestershire sauce is even ahead of soy sauce in popularity. In the countries of the New World, it is customary to season beans with it. Speaking about what Worcestershire sauce is eaten with, one cannot help but recall the famous hamburgers: this component is very often found in their dressings.

The world-famous Bloody Mary owes its legendary status to Worcestershire sauce: without it, the combination of vodka and tomato juice would not be so piquant.

Ingredients of Worcestershire sauce

Speaking about what Worcestershire sauce is, we should first of all mention its rich composition. The recipe for Worcestershire sauce, from which two lucky pharmacists once obtained this original dressing, is kept secret and to this day a very limited number of companies are involved in its production. But experienced tasters still lift the curtain on what components it is obtained from.

So, the composition of Worcestershire sauce includes onions (according to various sources - onions or shallots, and possibly both), Tamarind, fish (most often mentioned are anchovies and sardella), garlic, Lanspeek broth, lemon juice, celery stalk, horseradish, ginger , black molasses, corn syrup, malt vinegar and a variety of spices: salt, black pepper, curry, chili, nutmeg, bay leaf, allspice, tarragon, asafoetida.

All components must undergo a long fermentation period. And although the production technology is secret, manufacturers do not hide the fact that it takes up to three years to produce one bottle of sauce.

How to make Worcestershire sauce at home

Culinary experts give an unequivocal answer to this question: “no way.” Firstly , The composition of Voustre sauce with all the necessary proportions is currently known only to manufacturing companies. Secondly, this is too many-component product, requiring long and complex fermentation, which is practically impossible to carry out at home.

And yet you can make your own variation on this popular product. The taste will, of course, be different, but this is not a bad option for replacing factory-made Worcestershire sauce.

You will need:

  • 1 anchovy
  • Shallot bulb
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Ground ginger root
  • 3 spoons mustard seeds
  • Peppercorns
  • cinnamon stick
  • Curry
  • Carnation
  • Cardamom
  • Red pepper
  • Tamarind
  • Soy sauce
  • Acetic acid
  • Sugar
  • Gauze for straining

Take a whole onion and pour vinegar over it. The marinating process takes literally a few minutes. Next, take it out and chop it as finely as possible. The garlic should also be chopped and lightly sprinkled with vinegar. We form a kind of bag from gauze. We put chopped onions and garlic, a cinnamon stick, all types of peppers and cardamom into it. The bag should be tied tightly.

Pour soy sauce and acetic acid into the pan and stir. Add 100g sugar and tamarind. Add some water. Place the pan on the fire. The resulting solution must be boiled for at least half an hour over low heat.

Place finely chopped anchovy, curry and salt in a separate container. Add a little water and let it sit. After half an hour, add this mixture to the pan. Turn off the fire.

Next, you should prepare a glass container of suitable volume with an airtight lid. Place the prepared gauze bag with spices in it, fill it with the cooked sauce. Let the liquid cool, close the lid and place in the refrigerator.

Homemade fermentation will take at least seven days. During the first week, every day you need to remove the gauze bag from the jar and squeeze it thoroughly. After seven days, the bag is thrown away and the liquid is poured into smaller containers. Store in the refrigerator.

However, if this method of preparation seems too time-consuming and complicated to you, we still recommend purchasing the original sauce in stores, especially since its consumption is very economical and its shelf life is long. One purchased bottle can last for several years.

How to replace Worcestershire sauce

If you didn’t manage to buy it, but it takes too long to cook at home, you can look for an alternative option. Sometimes it is enough to add a few anchovies to a dish to bring its taste closer to the desired one. Sometimes a few drops of Tabasco sauce won't hurt. You can also look for Thai fish sauce - it also tastes like Worcestershire. Experiment, taste, add spices - and you will achieve the desired balance of taste.

How is Worcestershire sauce used?

It should not be used as a gravy over steak or salad. This sauce is added drop by drop, or at most a teaspoon. This amount is quite enough to give the dish the desired piquancy and spiciness. If you go too far with the quantity, the food will be irrevocably spoiled by the abundance of salt and spices. So it's better to introduce it gradually, constantly trying.

It is better to pour Worcester into drinks in a thin stream along the blade of a knife - this makes it easier to track the amount used. The meat is lightly brushed with it when marinating. It is better not to pour it directly into salads, but add it to the dressing, whisking well. The basis for salad dressings with Worcestershire can be butter, egg yolk and even yogurt.

Among all the existing varieties of spices and food dressings, a mysterious and spicy sauce made in England more than 180 years ago occupies a special place in cooking. Worcestershire sauce, which is also called Worcestershire and Worcestershire.

This is a special seasoning, the exact composition and manufacturing process of which still remains a mystery to culinary experts. Its original taste and multifaceted composition appeared thanks to a recipe that an English lord took from a cook in Bengal, where such spices are common.

Despite the complex composition of the dressing, its analogue can be created at home and you will experience the bright and incomparable taste and aroma of Bengal spices.

Worcestershire is a famous traditional addition to meat dishes in English cuisine. Many spice manufacturers continue to experiment with the composition to achieve the legendary exquisite taste, but few of them are able to recreate all the nuances.

The product is considered almost universal and has already become part of the traditional cuisine of countries such as Greece, America, Canada and Spain: it is added to salads and fish dishes, meat marinades and even drinks. It is believed that the main secret of the rich taste is long aging in an oak barrel.

Worcestershire sauce can be purchased at many supermarket chains, some of which even provide a vegetarian option without the anchovies. To avoid purchasing a fake, it is better to give preference to the Lea & Perrins brand - the oldest on the market.

The seasoning is economical to use, since it is not added to food in large quantities: for a salad, for example, a few drops are enough. The taste is very piquant, but since the components in the composition often vary depending on the manufacturing company, the flavors may vary slightly. Typically the overall taste is sour, with sweet notes and a fishy aftertaste.

A little history of the creation of Worcestershire sauce

Disputes about how the product was first manufactured in England and entered the international market still rage, although there are two most likely versions.

First was outlined by Thomas Smith in the 7th edition of the book “Successful Advertising”. The bottle's label states that Worcester is made "according to the recipe of one of the noble men of the county." The "noble man" refers to Lord Marquez Sandis, whose wife once mentioned her desire to obtain some quality curry powder. Lady Sandys kept a recipe brought from India by her uncle, Sir Charles.

The recipe was not simple, but in 1837 in Worcestershire there were two gifted pharmacists who were able to prepare the required mixture. The famous pharmacists John Lee and William Perrins were not so confident in the success of the planned event, but decided to try their luck. Their efforts soon paid off, and the satisfied customer received a bag of high-quality aromatic spice. Over time, they began to make a sauce from the dry seasoning, and talented enterprising pharmacists quickly became rich from its sales.

According to the second version The pharmacists did not get the Worcester on the first try, and its original appearance was considered nothing more than a culinary fiasco. Lord Sandys, who returned from Bengal and was very impressed with the local cuisine, decided that the bland English dishes needed to be diversified with spices.

Having given the pharmacists a prescription brought from his travels, the lord did not at all expect to receive an unpleasant-smelling liquid that had nothing in common with the bright taste he remembered. The pharmacists hid the result of the unsuccessful experiment in the basement and forgot about it for several years. Imagine their surprise when, during cleaning, they tried the infused liquid again: its rich taste exceeded all expectations. This soon made it possible to establish official production.

A classic dressing can contain from 20 to 40 ingredients, which makes the independent preparation process quite labor-intensive. The basis includes:

  • fermented anchovies (pelagic fish);
  • malt vinegar made from barley grains to enhance the taste;
  • sugar (in American cuisine it is replaced with corn syrup);
  • Blackstrap molasses – syrupy liquid, sweetener.

Additional ingredients are varied, their addition depends on the traditional cuisine of the country of origin:

  • shallots or onions;
  • Bay leaf;
  • ginger;
  • garlic;
  • lemon juice;
  • nutmeg;
  • horseradish;
  • salt;
  • chili pepper extract.

Considering the chemical composition of the product, which contains vitamins B2 and PP, as well as sodium, magnesium, iron and calcium, we can say that when added to food in moderation, the seasoning improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, normalizes metabolism and increases the number of red blood cells in the blood, and also has a mild sedative effect : relieves fatigue and irritation, relieves headaches and irritation, normalizes general condition and increases the body's resistance to stress.

Since the composition is very rich, allergy sufferers should be careful. If at least one of the components causes an allergic reaction, the product should not be included in the diet.

Gastrointestinal diseases such as ulcers, gastritis and increased stomach acidity are also contraindications for use. If you are obese and on a diet, you should also avoid including Worcestershire in the menu. Harm to the body, manifested in dysfunction of the pancreas and liver, is possible with frequent and excessive use.

During pregnancy Including seasoning in your diet can be beneficial: if added to food in small quantities, it helps relieve nausea and stimulates digestion. However, if consumed frequently, the sauce causes heartburn and disrupts intestinal function.

You should not use it in food if you had problems with the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver before pregnancy. In addition, excess consumption can cause thirst, and excess fluid in the body during pregnancy puts a lot of stress on the kidneys and heart, which leads to a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and swelling. In the last months of pregnancy, it is better to refrain from using this supplement.

During lactation The inclusion of sauce in the diet is contraindicated: spicy food components are excreted in breast milk, which causes intoxication of the child’s body. Components such as onions, mustard and pepper change the taste of breast milk, causing the baby to refuse the breast.

Children under 8-10 years old should not be given the seasoning. Older children and teenagers can eat it, but in limited quantities, no more than 1-2 times a week, lightly seasoning the food.

How can you replace Worcestershire sauce and how to make it at home

Due to the large number of components that make up the spice and the special method of preparation, it will not be possible to replace the original with an identical product. However, you can use other spices that are suitable for dressing salads and marinating meat:

  • Mix equal parts soy sauce, white vinegar and tamarind paste, adding a pinch of ground black pepper and cloves. The mixture turns out to be spicy and, like Worcestershire, is served with meat dishes and seafood salads.
  • Take 10 ml of vinegar and red wine, add 20 ml of fish sauce and 2 pinches of salt. This mixture is served with toast and crackers, and can be used to season thick soup.
  • An equally aromatic product is obtained by mixing equal amounts of lemon juice, garlic powder, vinegar and soy sauce with the addition of 20 g of sugar.

If any ingredients are missing to make a traditional seasoning, you can also replace them. For example, instead of black molasses, dark honey is used, preferably buckwheat, lemon juice is replaced with lime juice, and anchovy fillets are replaced with fish sauce to preserve the flavor. The following products also have a similar taste to English sauce:

  • red wine;
  • oyster and fish sauce;
  • regular or apple cider vinegar;
  • balsamic vinegar with the addition of Thai sauce;
  • grated sour berries.

Original recipe for Caesar

There are many recipes for the famous salad, but its classic version always includes the addition of English sauce. This recipe contains fewer ingredients than the original, but it is easier to prepare at home, and the taste is closest to the traditional one.

Ingredients:

Chop the onion and garlic, cut the ginger root into small cubes. Mix these ingredients, add mustard, 2 types of pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Place the ingredients in a thick piece of stamp and tie the bag. Pour vinegar and soy sauce into the pan, add sugar and tamarind pulp. Mix thoroughly and place a gauze bag into the pan with the mixture. Place the pan on the fire and bring its contents to a boil.

While the mixture is boiling, place the fish in a separate bowl, sprinkle it with curry and salt. Stir and add to the rest of the ingredients. After boiling, remove the pan from the heat and pour the contents into a glass container, leaving the bag with gauze in the sauce.

Let the mixture cool and refrigerate for 2 weeks. Periodically, the contents of the container need to be stirred and the bag of spices should be squeezed out. After 14 days, you can throw it away, strain the liquid and continue storing it in the refrigerator. For a Caesar salad, just add one teaspoon of dressing.

Recipe based on molasses

Black molasses - molasses - is an essential component for preparing the sauce, rich in vitamins and microelements. It is a dark thick syrup with a pronounced odor.

For cooking you need the following products:

Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic and chili, mix them with cardamom pods, crushed with a knife. Place all the ingredients indicated in the list (except sugar) in a saucepan, stir, and place over medium heat.

When the contents of the saucepan boil, the resulting mass must be continued to simmer on the fire for about 10 minutes. At this time, you need to pour the sugar into a frying pan and heat it until it completely melts.

The resulting syrup should be gradually poured into the saucepan, stirring with a whisk, after which the container can be removed from the heat.

Strain the resulting mass through a sieve and pour into a glass container. Shelf life: up to 10 months in a cool, dark place.

Making anchovy sauce

Worcestershire sauce is based on anchovies, which give the product a slight fishy flavor. When preparing seasoning at home, it is not recommended to replace anchovies with sprat. As a last resort, you can take the flesh of red fish.

List of ingredients:

Finely chop the onion and garlic with a knife. Lightly fry the nuts in a frying pan, then grind them until crumbly. Place all the ingredients in a glass jar and mix, put it in a cool place and shake several times a day.

The sauce will be ready in 14 days. The mixture of products must be placed in a sieve, the liquid must be strained and poured back into a glass container.

Common questions about the benefits and preparation of the sauce

What foods does the sauce not go with?

The product is not served with sweets, sweet pastries and fruits. It is also not consumed with drinks such as tea, coffee and juice. The only juice that goes well with spices is tomato juice. Tomato juice and sauce are the basis of the Bloody Mary alcoholic drink.

Can it be included in the menu if you have diabetes?

If you have diabetes, it is not advisable to include this product in your diet, since the sugar level in it is quite high. You can add a drop to the salad for flavor, but diabetics should not get carried away with its use.

How long can Worcestershire sauce be stored?

Store-bought sauce typically has a shelf life of 4 years from the time the bottle is opened, and can last longer if stored in an unopened bottle. Both sealed and opened bottles should be stored in a cool, dark place, otherwise mold may develop in it.

Sometimes sediment appears at the bottom of the bottle, but this does not mean that the product is spoiled: you need to shake the bottle and continue to use the sauce.

Can Worcestershire sauce be frozen?

Although sauces are not traditionally frozen, this product can be frozen without spoiling. However, its taste will deteriorate greatly: the taste will no longer be so spicy and rich and will not be suitable for marinating meat.

This spicy sauce, an element of the national cuisine of England, gives dishes a zest and helps reveal their taste to the fullest. Although it can be challenging to make at home, the results are well worth the effort - it has the true aroma and taste of English antiquity.

Worcestershire sauce is a delicious, savory sauce that is considered one of the most popular in the world. In England, where it was created, its original recipe is carefully hidden, but chefs from different countries managed to independently recreate the recipe as close as possible to the real thing. We will tell you more about what Worcestershire sauce is and where to get it.

Worcestershire sauce - what is it?

Worcestershire, or, as it is also called, Worcestershire sauce, allows you to add new flavor notes to a huge number of dishes. This culinary masterpiece was first mentioned more than 170 years ago. It owes its history to Lord Sandy, who lived in England and worked for several years in Bengal, where they loved spicy food.

Returning home, Sandy realized that everything he was served was rather bland. Then he called two pharmacists and asked them to prepare their favorite sauce, giving the required recipe.


All the necessary products were purchased and the pharmacy workers did an excellent job, but the lord did not like the result. The sauce was very spicy and had... Disappointed, Sandy ordered the jars of failed sauce to be taken to the basement. A few years later, the lord came across these jars again and decided to try the contents again. This time the taste was just perfect.

Already in 1837, mass production of Worcestershire sauce was launched, which soon became very successful.

Let us repeat that only a narrow circle of people know the original recipe for this sauce, but one thing is certain - it takes 3 years and 3 months to prepare it.

What do you eat Worcestershire sauce with?

The range of uses for Worcestershire sauce is very wide, as it can add a pleasant taste to almost all dishes. It is often added to fish and vegetable stews and so on. In Spain, Worcestershire sauce is especially often used in salad recipes.

In certain cases, this sauce is even used when preparing drinks. In China, Worcestershire sauce is often used to prepare various marinades.

Few people know, but the recipe for the famous alcoholic cocktail “Bloody Mary” also contains a small amount of the sauce we are considering, which makes the combination of tomato juice and vodka simply ideal.

How to make Worcestershire sauce

When considering what Worcestershire sauce is and where to get it, one should not lose sight of the fact that this sauce can also be prepared at home.

    Do you like Worcestershire sauce?
    Vote


The fastest recipe

Of course, you won’t be able to follow the exact recipe on your own and find all the necessary ingredients for the original Worcestershire sauce, so we bring to your attention a simplified version of the original recipe. It is quite simple to prepare and, moreover, you do not have to wait 3 years to try the prepared sauce. So, let's start cooking.

Ingredients:

  • garlic - 1 pc.;
  • apple cider vinegar - 0.5 tbsp;
  • honey (preferably dark) - 3 tbsp. l.;
  • lime juice - 1 tbsp. l.;
  • onion powder - 0.5 tsp;
  • garlic powder - ¼ tsp;
  • fish or oyster sauce - 2 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

  • Let's start with garlic. It can be chopped using a garlic press or a knife. Transfer the chopped garlic clove into a tall glass in which we will mix all the ingredients.

  • Pour apple juice into the same container.

  • Then add honey and lime juice. It is better if it is freshly squeezed.
  • Add onion and garlic powder. If you don't have these ingredients, you can replace them with regular minced garlic and onions.

  • One of the last steps is to add fish sauce or chopped anchovy fillets. Mix everything thoroughly with a whisk.

  • Pour the resulting sauce into the bottle and close it with a lid. It is recommended to store in the refrigerator.

The resulting sauce does not need to be infused. It can be used immediately after preparation and this will make its taste no worse.

Recipe close to the original

And also when discussing what to replace Worcestershire sauce with if you don’t have the original one on hand, you can consider another quick recipe. This recipe will be more complex than the previous one, as it involves boiling all the ingredients. However, its taste will be as close as possible to the original.


Ingredients:

  • garlic - 2 cloves;
  • vinegar 9% - 1.5 tbsp.;
  • grated ginger root;
  • cloves - 1 tsp;
  • cardamom - 0.5 tsp;
  • black peppercorns - 1 tsp;
  • red pepper - 2 pinches;
  • mustard seeds - 3 tbsp. l.;
  • cinnamon - 2 sticks;
  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • water - 100 g;
  • soy sauce - 0.5 tbsp;
  • sugar - 0.5 tbsp;
  • tamarind - ¼ tbsp.;
  • anchovies - 2 pcs.;
  • curry - 0.5 tsp.

Preparation:

  • Fold the gauze in half and put chopped garlic, ginger, cloves, cardamom, black and red pepper, mustard seeds into it, and sprinkle all the ingredients with vinegar. Finely chop the onion and add it to the rest of the ingredients.
  • In a saucepan, mix cold water, vinegar and soy sauce.
  • Add tamarind and sugar there. Mix everything well until the sugar grains dissolve.
  • We tightly tie the cheesecloth with all the ingredients and boil in the resulting mixture for about 30 minutes.
  • While the spices are boiling, finely chop the anchovies. Then add curry to them, a little water and about 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add them to the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Don't forget to stir periodically.
  • When 30 minutes have passed, strain the future sauce through a sieve and pour it into a convenient container. We put the gauze with spices there too.
  • We send the resulting mixture to a cold place for 2 weeks. During the entire time, every day it is necessary to take out the gauze with spices and let it out, then put it back in place.
  • After 2 weeks, the sauce will be completely ready for use.

Where to buy sauce

Since Worcestershire sauce has become even more popular recently, questions about what it is and where to get it disappear by themselves. You can buy Worcestershire sauce in absolutely any large supermarket, and if there is none in your city, you can order it in an online culinary store.

You can also prepare this sauce at home using the recipe above. Believe me, it will turn out no less tasty.

How to store Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce can be stored for up to 4 years after opening if provided in the right conditions. The best way is to store the sauce unopened in its original packaging, then the likelihood of it spoiling will be minimal.

The best place to store Worcestershire sauce is in the refrigerator, as it retains its flavor and texture better in the cold.

If stored for a long time, sediment may form at the bottom of Worcestershire sauce. There's nothing wrong with that. To get rid of this sediment, shake the sauce before using. And if the Worcestershire sauce has an unpleasant taste or smell, it has most likely gone bad. This product should not be eaten. The sauce must also be thrown away if traces of mold appear on it.

Now you know what Worcestershire sauce is and where to get it. This information will certainly be useful to you for creating new culinary masterpieces or for preparing ordinary dishes that, with the help of sauce, will acquire a new taste.

Worcestershire sauce is added to hamburgers and haute cuisine, meat is marinated with it and cocktails are prepared with it. More than 20 ingredients that are known to everyone and the taste of their combination, which is still not repeated by anyone, make this sauce very popular.

In what form is it sold:

A thick liquid, highly concentrated, sweet and sour, slightly piquant, fermented English sauce is produced on an industrial scale and bottled in glass bottles of varying sizes. The original sauce is produced only under the Lea&Perrins brand. However, this historically first manufacturer and sole owner of the recipe today belongs to the Heinz company.

Heinz also makes Worcestershire sauce, but the label is different. In addition, in supermarkets you can find an analogue from French's and Cajun Power, which are produced according to an approximate recipe, based on vinegar, anchovies, garlic, Jamaican allspice, black pepper, English red onion, Madagascar cloves, and numerous other ingredients, including tamarind, asafoetida and other exotic spices.

Worcestershire sauce is loved all over the world because it is universal and suitable for almost any dish of meat, fish, and vegetables. It is not poured like other sauces. The thick consistency of the product is added drop by drop, and therefore it is very economical.

Where to add Worcestershire sauce:

In Greece, a real Greek salad cannot be made without this sauce.

In Spain it is added to many salads and cold appetizers.

In China, Worcestershire sauce has become a real rival to its soy counterpart. It is used to create marinades for vegetables, meat, fish, and mushrooms.

In Canada and Central America, legumes are not eaten without this famous British product.

The classic Caesar salad, which comes from North American cuisine, is not prepared without
Worcestershire sauce. They make dressing and croutons with it.

In the USA, it is a constant companion to meat dishes. It is offered with hamburgers.

All over the world, Worcestershire sauce is a mandatory component of the Bloody Mary cocktail. Thanks to a few drops of this product, vodka remains colorless, without coloring when interacting with tomato juice.

Worcestershire sauce - what to eat it with:

The inhabitants of Britain have never been known for their elegance in food, so this product has become a real British legend, adding to the short list of culinary inventions of the inhabitants of Foggy Albion. Worcestershire sauce is used for marinade and also as a seasoning for:

  • stewed and fried meat dishes (roast beef, stew),
  • for fried and boiled fish;
  • to any fried, stewed, boiled vegetables, mushrooms;
  • hot appetizers (bacon with scrambled eggs);
  • for cheese dishes and bread (salty pastries);
  • sandwiches, croutons and other light foods and cold snacks.

It is called the sauce of Lucullan dinners because without it even a richly laid table will seem poor to the British. It has a non-standard taste, so it will not be possible to find an adequate replacement for it.

What cannot be combined with:

Worcestershire sauce is not served with desserts, fruits, sweet pastries, tea, coffee, or juices.

Health benefits of Worcestershire sauce:

History is silent about the beneficial properties of Worcestershire sauce due to the secrecy of the recipe, but its chemical composition is known. It is rich in vitamins B2 and PP. Worcestershire contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and sodium. Minimal amounts of adding sauce to dishes, even with its constant use, are unlikely to lead to any noticeable effect. However, like any natural product, it is useful, especially in winter.

Harm:

The calorie content of Worcestershire sauce is 78 kcal per 100 grams of product, but do not think that it is contraindicated when following a diet. It is consumed so little with a strong taste effect that it will not be possible to exceed the calorie content of dishes.

The only contraindication may be the presence in the sauce of one or another allergen that is individually intolerable. There are more than 20 components in total.

Worcestershire sauce - ingredients:

Since the exact recipe is known only to the manufacturer, you can only get to the bottom of the truth using the label of the purchased product and experiment. Approximately the sauce contains:

garlic, onions and shallots,

chili, black and allspice;

anchovies or sardellas;

tamarind, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg;

celery, asafoetida, bay leaf, tarragon;

lemon juice;

molasses, sugar or syrup, salt;

vinegar (traditionally malt).

Many components come from Albion's colonial past.

How to replace Worcestershire sauce

While preparing this article, I noticed that people quite often ask how to make Worcestershire sauce at home. I studied this issue a little and realized that this is an absolutely pointless idea and here’s why:

Here is a list of ingredients to make something like Worcestershire sauce:

Onion, garlic, black pepper, anchovy, ginger, mustard seeds, salt, curry, ground cinnamon, red pepper, cloves, cardamom, acetic acid, cane sugar, soy sauce, tamarind.

After that,
Once you buy everything, you will still need to tinker to make a sauce out of them, which must be infused. Some of the ingredients will be more difficult to buy than a bottle of ready-made sauce. Now ask yourself a question - do you need it?

If you have a simple task: for example, replacing Worcestershire sauce in a Caesar salad, take balsamic vinegar cream or Teriyaki sauce.

I compared the tastes and aftertaste of 5 sauces with Worcestershire and came to the conclusion that if you need to replace its taste, then the above sauces are perfect.

  • According to one of the legends of the creation of the sauce, in the era of Queen Victoria and Sherlock Holmes, the English Lord Sandys returned to good old England from Bengal, where he performed gubernatorial duties on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain. He brought with him the sauce recipe and exotic ingredients. The Lord could not adapt to the bland and decorous English cuisine after the spicy oriental one and handed over the recipe to pharmacist-chemists John Lea and William Perrins in anticipation of a miracle. The product they prepared tasted terrible. The keg was forgotten in the basement. The miracle happened only a year later, when it was discovered and... tasted. In the late 40s of the 19th century, pharmacists bought the recipe from the lord and began producing the product under the brand name “Lea & Perrins,” naming it after the county in which they lived.
  • Worcestershire sauce is perhaps one of the most legendary English sauces. He became famous throughout the world. For example, in the early 20th century, Tibetan monks honored explorer Francis Edward Young by serving a bottle of Worcestershire sauce as a condiment during lunch in Lhasa.
  • Do not try to prepare the original at home. It's not so much difficult as it is impossible. The recipe and manufacturing technology have been kept secret for almost two centuries. Even the composition of ingredients approximately calculated by competitors requires the preparation of the product on an industrial scale (to obtain 10 kg of sauce under appropriate maturation conditions, which were created in the basements of the Lea & Perrins plant). Any non-original recipes are just another imitation of the product.
  • The mysterious habitat of the sauce was created by the 1886 earthquake that occurred in New Zealand: a completely populated area at the epicenter was destroyed, but the original bottle of Worcestershire sauce survived. They were found almost a century later, in the 70s of the 20th century, during excavations.

Views